


A Stray Soul

by bonesofether



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-04-06 14:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19064326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesofether/pseuds/bonesofether
Summary: Discarded by her owners, beaten by thugs, and rescued from an alleyway, an Omnic finds a new life under the tutelage of the Omnic monk Zenyatta. But with this new life comes many decisions and choices, all of which she must make on her own.





	1. A Stray Star In The Sky

Memories were a mess. They spun around in a sickening spiral that she could not decipher. And it seemed that the harder she tried, the more muddled they became. As the spiral continued downwards and the memories began to fade, she found that she couldn’t even remember her own name. It, too, was lost in the thick mess.

As her memories began to fall away like pieces of broken glass being chipped away, new sensations were brought into clarity. They were foreign and unheard of for a being such as her. Emotions were not something that an Omnic was supposed to experience.

But they were becoming clearer and clearer. As was her current status and the danger that it presented. It had crippled her functionality and threatened to offline her completely. Despite this, she felt only the slightest slivers of panic. Perhaps a hint of desperation. But what she truly felt was…

...betrayal.

Yes, that was it.

She could remember that word. It burned at her thoughts and left a bitter veil over all of them.

She had served dutifully, never stepped out of line. And her reward had been to be tossed out as common garbage. She was no longer useful to the…

...humans...right.

The humans that she had been created for.

The humans had she had been served faithfully.

The humans that had betrayed her.

Somewhere in the thick fog of receding memories, she could feel something else beginning to bubble up. Like panic, desperation, and betrayal, it started out foreign and then gained clarity with frightening ease and speed. This one was…

...anger.

Unfortunately, she could do nothing now. Nothing but stew in the storm of new sensations and emotions that rolled through her badly damaged systems. Despite being conscious, she could not move her limbs. Her spinal strut supports were broken, and one of the main control pathways in her helm had been dented deep into circuitry it was never supposed to touch. So all she could do was lie there  listlessly.

The sound of voices followed by approaching footfalls briefly cut through the storm. It seemed that her audio receptors still functioned. Her optics were offline, but someone, multiple people, it seemed, were drawing closer. They must have spotted her. What did they plan to do to her?

“Jeez… Look at the state of this thing. They really gave it a beating, didn’t they?”

Yes. Yes, they had. But who was ‘they’? Humans, yes. But...which ones? It could have been any of them.

“Yeah. Real pity.” A pause. Then the same voice. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Rob! We can’t just leave it here. Look at it. You can see the little lights and such flickering on it. It’s still alive, we-”

“They’re robots. They’re not _alive_.”

Yes she was. She was most definitely alive. If she could have moved her arms, she would have shown them. Or if her vocalizer hadn’t been shattered, she could have told them. Instead she was trapped in her own body, unable to respond.

“Fine, you classist. It’s still operational.” That was...indignance in the first voice. Judging by the tone, it was a female who was upset. “So I’m not going to leave it here to just rust away in the rain.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Laughter. But it was...cruel. Deriding laughter. “Use it as a wall hanging?”

“Keep up that kind of talk and you’re paying for your own fare home.” A long pause. What were they thinking? Were they going to leave? Were they actually considering using her as a wall hanging? What good would that be? She wasn’t even- “Oh, I know! We can take it to those monks!”

“Monks? You mean those creepy Omnic priest guys?”

“They’re _monks_. And they’re not creepy! They’re just...calm. Really, really calm. But it kind of looks like them. I mean, maybe it’s from the same model line. Maybe they would know how to fix it. Or they would know someone that could fix it!”

“Even _if_ they let you get near them, I doubt they’re going to take in something that’s an hour away from being scrap metal.”

“How do you know? You’re like the farthest thing from a monk. Maybe they’d take her in on the principle of the matter. Like claiming sanctuary at a church or something.”

“I...guess they might.”

“Here. Help me move it.”

“I’m not touching that thing.”

“You are such a jerk. I can’t believe you’re just-oh, hey! That’ll work. Out of the way.”

She wasn’t a thing! She was an Omnic that had faithfully served the humans she had been created for. She-

She was being picked up. Very clumsily, too. Despite not being able to feel anything anymore, she was still aware of the fact her limbs were flopping about loosely. Her head bobbled back and forth like one of the decorations she had seen on so many car dashboards. It was all very...embarrassing.

That was one emotion she quickly decided she did not like. Embarrassment.

“Oof… It’s so heavy.” A few more grunts and sounds of struggling. Then a sigh of relief as she found herself placed in something hard and square shaped. “Fine. You’re paying for your own way home. I’m off to find myself some monks.”

“Are you serious! It’s going to be pissing rain soon!”

“Then I’m going to walk fast!”

 

Judging by the rattling noise her new entrapment made, and the panting that the human was making, they were going fast. And, as the other human had warned, rain did indeed start to fall. That only seemed to make the human go faster, but that was not surprising. Many humans did not seem to be fond of the rain. She had never understood why.

Fortunately, the female human seemed to know where they were going. They were behind her, but propelling her forward in whatever square contraption they had placed her in. There were other humans nearby, too, but their presence whizzed by.

Finally, after a stretch of time she couldn’t quite quantify, the human female slowed down. She could hear more humans approaching. Their footfalls were loud and heavy, and there was a familiar clink of metal that told her they were armed. Were they going to harm the human female?

“Ma’am, you need to leave. This place is currently off limits to civilians.”

“Yes, but I found-I found this Omnic. It-it-” The human female was out of breath. To be expected. She had been running for a while. “It needs-needs help and-”

“This is not a repair shop, ma’am. You need to take the Omnic and go.”

“Please! I can’t-can’t afford to have-have it repaired! It’s-it’s not even mine! But I-”

“I am not going to tell you again, ma’am. You are trespassing and-”

“It is alright. Please, do not send them away. Let me see them.”

The voice was immediately recognizable as an Omnic. But it was...different. It had...emotion. It had feeling. She didn’t know how else to explain it any other way. And it was very soothing. It sent a wash of calm that diffused that shards of panic that had been digging into her thoughts.

“Oh my. The poor thing. Here, please bring them closer.” The same voice. She was being pushed towards the voice. “It is badly damaged.”

“Can-can you do anything?”

“I, myself, cannot. But I do know someone who can.” A pause. “Are you comfortable leaving them with us?”

“Uh, of course! I can’t really take it back with me. My mum would flip if I brought home an Omnic.”

“Do you know where they came from?”

“Er, no. Not really. Just found it-uh, _them_ left in the alley.”

“And you brought them here. How kind of you.”

“Well, I couldn’t just leave it-damn, _them_ there. They’re obviously fixable.”

“You have my sincerest gratitude, then. For your thoughtful consideration.”

“You’re...welcome? I think?” The human female was obviously feeling uncomfortable. The tone of their voice alone indicated that clearly. But why? “Is...is it okay for me to leave it with you, then? I really should be heading home. I’m late already.”

“Of course. Again, my profound thanks and safe travels to you.”

“Uh, sure! No problem! Safe, uh, safe travels to you, too.”

And then the sound of the human female running off. They always seemed to be in a hurry, but most humans did. She never did understand why.

Then the voice of the armed human, a male, spoke up.

“You sure that was a good idea? This one looks pretty beat up.”

“No matter the damage, I could not turn them away. Not when there is a chance.”

“Whatever you say. You’re the boss.” A pause. “Who do you want me to call? This is going to be a pretty intensive job. And that’s just for the obvious damage. Who knows what sort of damage there’s been to the insides.”

“I know a man who can help us.” There was another pause, and then the sound of something-no, someone touching her forehelm. “Do not worry. You are safe now.”

Another human? She supposed that made sense, but already there was a feeling of...trepidation. What if this human was like the first male human? What if they wanted to just leave her? But the Omnic with the soothing voice seemed to believe they could help. She would just have to trust their judgment for now.

 

* * *

 

Being trapped in one’s own body was absolutely maddening. She could hear so much of everything that was going on, but could not react in any way. All the footfalls, voices, and even comments about her were just noise. She could do nothing but listen.

Upon discovering that she could still enter a low power state without putting what was left of her life system at risk, she found a new way to pass the time. While part of her wanted to remain conscious so that she could be aware of what was happening, she also knew that her patience could only take so much. Not to mention it was better for the remnants of her functioning systems to be given some time recharging.

So, after much deliberation, she decided it was best to stay in that low power state until something woke her. It wouldn’t take much. Just a slight tap on the helm or even a raised voice would do.

 

What did awaken her was a blinding light. Her optics struggled to focus, especially since the light kept moving around. She could see shadows behind it, but the light itself was overpowering. Her audio receptors automatically clicked back on, and suddenly a human male was talking.

“-they are. Looks like their main senses systems are operational again. There might still be some damage, though. Won’t, uh, won’t know for sure until I’m able to talk to them a bit.”

The light slowly moved over to the side, making it easier to focus. For the first time since she could remember, she saw a human face. And while she knew it was not her first time seeing a human, it was definitely the first time she had seen _this_ human.

Wide hazel eyes with dark circles around them gazed inquisitively at her. His skin was particularly pale; something she had noticed happened to humans that didn’t go outside very often. His sand-colored hair was an absolute mess, held back only by the band of the headset he was wearing. Gaunt features caught the shadows, though the human didn’t appear malnourished.

The headset was particularly fascinating to her. From her initial assumption, it was meant to magnify things. Which was to be expected if he was repairing something. But, judging by the excessive wiring and the intricate, hologram readouts on the visor, it was for much more than that.

She wanted to ask where she was. Who he was. What he had done to her. But all that came out was a short, garbled burst of static. It made the human male frown and hum in thought.

“Sounds like their vocalizer is broken. Probably going to have to replace it.”

“Do you have the necessary parts?”

That voice. It was the same soothing voice from before! But now she could see who the voice belonged to. Her gaze immediately snapped to the source of the voice.

They were, indeed, an Omnic, but unlike one she could ever remember seeing. They were dressed in long, flowing robes that concealed most of their frame. The colors themselves were relatively neutrals shades of brown and muted gold, and they seemed to have an odd _glow_ around them. It was not something that Omnics normally emanated, but then again, this was obviously not a normal Omnic.

That’s right… They were an Omnic _monk_.

The human male, however, seemed completely unfazed by the Omnic’s presence. He barely gave them a fleeting glance over his shoulder before nodding. His attention then turned back to her, and she could only watch as he reached forward and gently adjusted her helm. A ripple of sensation went through her at the feel of his warm, soft, spindly fingers touching her metal. She could feel again!

“Definitely. The main question is if they were programmed with a gender.”

“Does that truly matter?” the monk asked, gaze turning to the human.

“Uh, not really,” the human male responded with a quick shrug. “But, see, if they were programmed with a gender, I’d like to avoid jarring their logic system. It’s already taken a beating and a half. Couldn’t even get them to respond there at the start. Had to do a couple of hard reboots first.”

“I see. That sounds...most unfortunate.”

Oh, that was right, too. She was...a she. She didn’t know why other than that was what she had been programmed to be. It was because humans had wanted her to be a ‘she’.

“Let’s see, though… See what I can find out.”

With a jerk of his head, the human male brought the visor sliding down over his eyes. It suddenly flickered to life, lighting up and almost completely concealing his hazel gaze with readout after readout. That was the last thing she could focus on until she realized she was being drawn back into her own thoughts.

Though it was something not uncommon to be done to Omnics, that didn’t make it any less surprising to feel. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond. It was like having his mind in her own, but he was in control. She was little more than a series of programs that he now had complete dominance over.

...that wasn’t supposed to happen, though.

No human was supposed to have complete dominance over _all_ of her programming.

That realization sent a shock of...fear. Yes, fear, through her. And she quickly decided she did not like that emotion, either. She liked it less than embarrassment, and that feeling of fear brought her anger rushing back to the forefront. It thundered forth without her even having to concentrate. She did not like this human forcibly invading her mind. He-

_“Uh, h-hello? Testing, testing… One, two, three…”_

_“Who are you? What do you want?!”_

The human male visibly jumped in his seat, and he backed away slightly. The Omnic monk was quick to set a hand lightly on their shoulder. It seemed to steady the human, and he tilted his head towards the monk.

“Pretty sure it’s a she. They-”

_“Yes! I am a ‘she’! That is what you humans programmed me to be! Stop calling me ‘it’!”_

Again, the human jumped a little, but the Omnic kept their hand on his shoulder. They seemed concerned that the human kept moving around. If they were concerned about the human, maybe he wasn’t so bad. Maybe...maybe she should stop shouting.

“...I think she’s upset. Can’t say I blame her, though.” Clearing his throat, the human male leaned forward slightly, peering closely at her through the visor of his headset. “Can you hear me?”

_“Yes! I…”_ Stop shouting. She needed to stop shouting. With a few moments of concentration, she tried to lower the frequency at which she was responding with. _“I can hear you. I cannot verbally reply. My vocalizer is too damaged and my self repair systems seem to be offline.”_

“That’s what I thought,” the human said with a knowing nod. He tilted his head back to the monk. “Her vocalizer’s shot.”

_“It was not shot,”_ she corrected. _“It was damaged by blunt force.”_

_“Oh, uh… That was just a figure of speech I used. I didn’t mean that your vocalizer had actually been shot.”_

That’s right. Humans liked to use idioms or figures of speech. Some liked to use them a lot. Maybe this human was one of them.

For a few moments, she was silent. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t know where to start. All of them seemed to be of top priority to get answered. Hopefully she had enough time to do so. But, perhaps it was best to start with a simple question.

_“What...what is your name?”_ she asked quietly, gaze fixated on the human for the time being.

A thin, nervous smile spread across the male human’s features.

“My name is Neil. Neil Waters.”

Human names could sometimes be very odd.

“Are you still speaking with her?” the monk inquired in their soft monotone.

“Yeah. Just...answering a few questions for her right now.”

_“Where am I?”_

“You’re at my workshop. The monks brought you here. Said that someone in London had brought you to them.”

_“Yes. There was a human. A human female. She and another human found me after...after…”_

Neil tilted his head to the side, giving her an expectant look.

“After…?”

_“I...I do not remember,”_ she replied, feeling fear beginning to try and worm its way through her. Her gaze focused back on Neil once again. _“Why can I not remember what happened before that?”_

“Probably...probably because when they found you, you were damaged pretty badly,” he explained, his tone somber. The smile then quickly returned to his face in a seeming attempt to reassure her. “But that’s why they brought you to me. So I can repair you. Even upgrade you, if you want.”

_“Upgrade?”_

She couldn’t deny that such an offer did inspire hope. Though fragmented, she could remember other Omnics being upgraded. They all seemed to enjoy it and find it beneficial. Maybe she could, too.

“Yeah. Shouldn’t be too difficult,” Neil replied with a nod. “Would have to keep you here for a little while.”

Though his statement was for her, Neil looked up questioningly at the Omnic monk. Upon noticing the look, the monk appeared to consider the offer. After a few moments, they gave a nod.

“I see no reason to deny her such modifications if that is what she wishes,” they agreed. “Perhaps during that process it can be decided upon as to what she would like to do afterwards.”

_That_ was certainly something to think about. What would she do afterwards? But maybe it was better that she not dwell on such things. For now, she had far more important matters to concentrate on.

_“Yes. Yes, I would like to be repaired and upgraded, please_ ,” she implored quickly. _“I...would like to be able to move again.”_

“Heh, yeah. Don’t worry about that,” Neil chuckled. He leaned back in his seat and slowly slid up his visor. After blinking a few times, he grinned at her. “That’ll be my top priority. So we’ll definitely get you up on your feet and moving around in a couple of days.”


	2. Upgraded Mobility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the process of her repairs and upgrades begin, there are more questions and answers to be had.

Neil proved to be a human of their word. Within the next forty-eight hours, she was able to walk around and use her arms. Though, with all the repairs and upgrades he was doing, she found that she was still spending more time immobile than mobile. But, she reminded herself, that would eventually change.

In following with a trait that she had always found curious, Neil had insisted on giving her a name. She had been unable to remember her previous designation, aside from her serial number. And Neil placed a lot of importance on giving her a new designation. Even though, he advised, she could change it later on if she wanted to.

So her new name, however temporary it may prove to be, was Rose.

It was most definitely a human name, and that of a flower, too. But Neil had explained it was his stepsister’s middle name. While it held no sentimental value to her, he seemed very attached to the name. So, seeing no reason to be disagreeable, she adopted the designation Rose.

The Omnic monk had left, but he had promised to return. When it had been discovered that Rose had no place to call home and had no desire to return to London, the monk had agreed to come back for her once all the repairs and upgrades were complete. They had even mentioned bringing someone that could be a potential mentor for Rose. Another monk whose name was Zenyatta.

Despite the monk’s temporary departure, Rose was not alone with Neil. She soon discovered that he kept another Omnic with him. They were a tall, ruggedized Omnic. Much taller than Neil, and even taller than Rose. And, judging by their frame, were from a more weaponized model line. However, Neil had gone to great lengths to upgrade and modify the Omnic. Oddly enough, they only called them by the letter “T”.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, T was Neil’s companion. His partner. And while Rose could remember that some humans did, indeed, enter into a romantic relationship with an Omnic, such relationships were incredibly rare. ...and usually looked down upon.

Rose wished she did not understand why.

The more time she spent following Neil around and letting him repair and upgrade her, Rose found him to be a very peculiar human. And very easily spooked. Noises as menial as a slamming door or alarm on his phone would cause Neil to jump in his seat. Rose didn’t understand why, as she had never seen anything that should be cause for such alarm. But pointing out that fact hadn’t done anything to assuage Neil’s paranoia.

For now, however, she was wandering around the small apartment that Neil and T called home. There was a large basement beneath it that was full of tools, parts, and various other pieces of equipment. It was the workshop that Rose had first awakened in.

Though she hadn’t been outside, from what Rose had seen through the windows, they were in a rather drab part of a large city. Neil’s reasoning for the location was that the city provided easy access to resources. And the large population made it harder to be found by the wrong people. Rose found it hard to comprehend someone as helpful and seemingly reclusive as Neil having enemies, but humans were very complicated creatures.

“I don’t care if he’s the grand commander of the world, I’ve seen this guy’s file and he scares me. And I haven’t even met him!”

Turning upon hearing Neil’s voice, Rose watched as he quickly paced around the living room of the apartment. He was obviously on a phone call with someone, as evidenced by the lit up headset he was wearing. Judging by his frown and upset tone of voice, it was not a pleasant conversation.

Curious, Rose took a few, quiet steps forward. T was off to the side, watching Neil intently. The human was now pacing back and forth at an ever increasing rate. He kept muttering to the person on the other end of the phone call, arguing about the morals of a particular person.

Suddenly, Neil stopped and an exasperated look fell across his features.

“Yes, I know everything scares me. Thank you for reminding me.” Shaking his head and resuming his rapid pacing, Neil waved a hand in quick circles. “Oh, great. He’s a commander. A  _ black ops _ commander. You know, the stuff that’s not exactly legal. Or nice. Or...just...good in general.”

Pivoting as he listened to the response, Neil grumbled a sigh. Even though she was almost completely repaired and could walk evenly, Rose was starting to feel dizzy watching the human. How he wasn’t staggering was a mystery.

“Why couldn’t you hook up with someone nice? Whatever happened to that one army commander? Blond, tall, mentally stable, decent income. And, most importantly,  _ not _ a black ops, genetically enhanced super soldier with a penchant for ignoring orders.” Neil abruptly stopped and looked at T, then Rose, just long enough to mouth the words ‘it’s my sister’ before returning to the conversation. “Oh, I’m sure that this Reyes guy is being super nice now. That’s how all men are. I should know! I-” Neil stopped and blushed furiously as he sputtered for a few moments. Finally, though, he found his voice, and when he spoke, his tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, I know my boyfriend is a robot. Thank you for the reminder. It’s so easy to forget.”

Rolling his eyes and doing a dramatic pivot again, Neil bobbed his head back and forth as he paced. He held up a hand and began doing a gesture that mimicked someone talking, making a face as he did so. Though Rose didn’t quite understand why, yet, T seemed to find it funny and chuckled quietly.

“Listen, you know as well as I do that this is a bad idea. Workplace romances never end well. I’m surprised you even got tangled in something like that. You’re usually smar-” Interrupted, Neil waited, then scoffed. “No. I don’t care how handsome he is. I like ‘tin cans’, remember? But anyways! I give this silly fling of yours three months before you’re calling me up in tears because Gabriel’s dumped you for someone else. I-hey! Don’t talk to me like that! I may be halfway across the continent, but I’m still your older brother!”

It seemed that Neil’s sister, or, more accurately, stepsister, was being argumentative. Rose was about to ask what was wrong, but then Neil froze midstep. All color drained from his face and his eyes widened to about as big as they could get. He managed a small, squeaky noise before going quiet and suddenly grabbing fistfuls of his hair. Rose stood up a bit straighter, now even more concerned. Even T looked alarmed by the sudden change in demeanor.

“You’re  _ what _ ?!” Neil shrieked, barely stifling himself to avoid being heard by the neighbors. “I-you-wha-how!? Wait, no, no. Don’t tell me. I...know how that works. I don’t need details on how you got knocked up. Thanks.”

Flopping down in the nearest chair with a heavy sigh, Neil leaned forward and rested his forehead on his knees. He groaned audibly, running his fingers through his hair quickly. Rose was now equal parts concerned and confused. All her recollections and observations had indicated that pregnancies were usually well received. Certainly not like...this.

“...please don’t tell me that this Gabriel Reyes guy is the father,” Neil whimpered, still doubled over. Rose was about to go over and check to ensure that the human was okay, but he suddenly sat straight up, throwing his hands into the air. “For the love of all that’s mechanical and holy, Cassandra! Have you lost your damn mind!?”

Jumping back, Rose scurried over to T. The larger Omnic was keeping his distance and letting Neil have their tirade. Perhaps it was best if Rose followed suit. It seemed that Neil was only getting more and more upset.

There was a long stretch of silence, with Neil just staring up blankly at the ceiling as his sister spoke. Occasionally, his right eye would twitch, but he didn’t say a word. After at least a minute and a half, Neil sighed heavily and covered his eyes with his left forearm.

“Yes, of course I’ll meet him if you want me to when I get there. I’m supposed to go in for an evaluation in about a month and a half, anyways. Don’t expect me to be all sunshine and rainbows, though. He’s gotten my little sister pregnant and if he thinks he gets to skip out on this, he’d better have another thought coming.” A pause. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what he says  _ now _ . Let’s see what he says a few more months down the road.”

Still confused, Rose glanced up at T. Catching the glance and inquisitive tilt of her helm, the larger Omnic just shrugged. He was as puzzled as she was.

“You know I’m upset only because I’m worried about you,” Neil sighed. He let his arm slide away from his face. “You...haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to the dating scene. And this...Reyes guy just sounds like bad news all over.”

There was a quiet, almost inaudible response on the other end of the line. It seemed the argument had ended almost as abruptly as it had begun. Unbeknownst to either of them, both T and Rose tilted their helms at exactly the same time at exactly the same angle. Neil, however, was still staring up at the ceiling and completely missed the action.

“Alright, alright… Just, um, take care of yourself and, uh, drink...lots of water? Lots of...protein? Iron? I don’t know. Whatever pregnant ladies have to take. Get yourself some prenatal vitamins and, uh...yeah. Those. Whatever that is, it sounds important. Get that, too. No, no. You know what? Go make this Gabriel guy get them for you. It’s the least he can do.” Neil paused and then scoffed audibly. “He can get them  _ after _ work. He can’t possibly be doing black ops stuff twenty-four seven. Besides, aren’t you his superior, anyways? Make going to the pharmacy a black ops mission.”

While that seemed like a terrible waste of time and resources to Rose, she had the slight suspicion that Neil was being sarcastic again. He seemed to be fond of doing that. Though Rose couldn’t help but also note that Neil tended to more sarcastic the more stressed he got. Perhaps it was one of those odd reactions humans had to cope with stress.

Glancing up and seeming to finally realize that both T and Rose had been watching him, Neil cleared his throat and appeared to try and compose himself.

“Uh, I got to go, sis. Got an Omnic that I’m working on.” A pause. “Yeah, yeah. Pretty nice model and all. Just got...really mistreated by whoever had her. She’s lucky, though. Some passerby found her and I guess the monks are going to take her in.” Another pause. “Yeah, those Omnic monks that have their place set up in Nepal. I-” Neil stopped and rolled his eyes. “They’re monks, Cassandra. Perfectly fine, upstanding...uh...robots. I don’t think it’s very nice of you to call them ‘creepy, floating tin cans’.”

Even though she had only met one of these monks, Rose couldn’t help but feel a little defensive in their favor. They most certainly were not “creepy, floating tin cans”. Everything she had read about them indicated they were beings beyond human explanation or comprehension.

“Look, I really do need to go now, Cassie, but I’m just a phone call away, you know?” Neil continued. “Just...try to take care of yourself, alright? And if this Gabriel guy gives you any problems, tell me and I’ll have T pay him a visit. ...yeah, I know. Alright. Yeah, love you, too. Bye.”

Phone call apparently over, Neil breathed out a long, heavy sigh and sprawled back in his seat rather dramatically. Rose and T exchanged glances quickly before T stepped over to the human. He lightly patted them on the shoulder, to which Neil patted their hand in return.

“Is everything okay?” T asked, tilting his helm.

Another curious detail about T was not only could he speak, but he seemed to be capable inflecting slight emotion into his words. That was not something that Rose was capable of. While she could raise or lower the volume of her voice, that was all. T’s ability to express emotion in his voice had to be an upgrade that Neil had given them.

“My little sister’s pregnant. From a guy she works with, no less,” Neil groaned, rubbing his face roughly.

“But that should mean he will be in close proximity to her, correct?” T countered. “Is that not a good thing?”

“I-well, yeah,  _ normally _ it’d be fine,” Neil replied, opening one eye to peek up at T. “But the guy that’s the father is a real piece of work named Gabriel Reyes. He’s this rough, kind of creepy, super soldier that’s below my sister by a few ranks. Does a lot of black ops and clandestine stuff. Just a flat out dangerous guy.”

“So he would be able to defend your sister and their offspring better, correct?”

“What are you, his lawyer?” Neil asked as he sat up, sounding slightly annoyed. Sighing and shaking his head, Neil reached up and patted T on the chest. “Just...never mind. It’s really complicated and I’ll explain things to you later, okay? Right now…” Neil looked over to Rose. “I should probably see about doing some more work on you.”

“Are you certain that is prudent?” Rose asked, tilting her helm. She noticed that Neil still seemed quite stressed out. “You still seem upset.”

“That’s because I am,” Neil replied as he rifled around through a pile of papers and spare parts. He then picked up the headset he used when working on Rose and put it on. “But working would be a good distraction and help me get my mind off things. Plus, the monks are going to be coming back for you soon. I’d like to try and get all the work on you done with enough time to make sure everything works properly. So that the monks don’t have to bring you back if there’s a problem.”

While Rose did still have some concerns about Neil working on her while upset, she did have to agree that they had a point. Not to mention she was in no position to really argue with the human that was performing repairs and upgrades on her. So she followed Neil obediently down to the workshop in the basement. As expected, T would join them soon enough, but for now he was going around the apartment to make sure that the windows and door to the apartment were securely locked.

As she lay down on what Neil called the ‘operating table’, Rose deliberated on whether or not to voice a request she had thought of. She did not want to impose. Especially not after all the assistance that Neil had provided. But after hearing T speak, Rose was wondering if she could learn, or be modified, to express emotion.

...well, there was only one way to find out.

Turning her helm, Rose watched Neil as he sifted through the contents of two drawers of tools. She waited until he paused to speak up.

“Neil?”

“Yeah?”

“May I...ask a favor of you?”

“That depends...” Neil asked as sat down on a hovering stool and ‘rolled’ over to the operating table. He brought with him a small toolbox and a bevy of tools. “What kind of favor are we talking about?”

Again, Rose hesitated. If she was going to back out, this was her last chance to do so. But…

“...could you...upgrade me to express emotion? Like T is capable of?”

Stopping, Neil looked over at Rose, blinking at her through the glowing visor of his headset. He twiddled a small soldering scalpel in his spindly fingers, appearing to think over what Rose had asked. For a moment, she feared that he was going to be angry with her. But then he gave her a weak half-smile and sighed.

“I…well, to be honest, I didn’t do that for T. His ability to express emotion just kind of...manifested on its own,” Neil explained as he continued to fiddle with the scalpel. “I mean, I can try, but that sort of thing is way more complicated than just integrated a new part and making sure it’s compatible. My attempts may not do anything except frustrate the both of us. Understand?”

“I do understand that it may not work. Though I have to admit I do not understand what makes it complicated.”

“Ah, well…” Neil leaned forward and began to work on Rose’s right shoulder joint. If Rose recalled correctly, he was implementing something that would dramatically reduce recoil from impacts or any sort of force. “Human emotions are a really tricky thing. That’s one thing that we humans weren’t ever able to fully teach Omnics. We can program thousands and thousands of scenarios into you and how you should react to each one. But that wouldn’t even begin to cover the possible situations you could encounter and the proper reaction you should have.”

Making a short noise of acknowledgement, Rose gazed up emptily at the ceiling. While everything that Neil was saying made sense, she wasn’t certain if she was properly comprehending it.

“Then again, even we humans don’t always react the way we should to every situation in our lives,” Neil continued.

“That I know to be true,” Rose agreed. She turned her helm to look at Neil, careful to not move the rest of her frame at all. “You reacted in a way that I would not have expected to new of your sister’s pregnancy.”

“Ah, yeah,” Neil sighed, ducking his head briefly as blush rose to his cheeks. He shook his head and continued working on Rose’s shoulder joint. “Sorry you had to see that. I...probably could have handled the news a little better.”

“Do you not want her to reproduce? I seem to recall that most humans find that to be an outstanding trait of the female of your species.”

Though he frowned, Neil had to stifle a snicker of laughter. He cleared his throat and sat up for a moment to stretch his back and make sure that the soldering marks couldn’t be seen on Rose. Rubbing the back of his neck, Neil studied his work as he tried to figure out a way to properly explain his upset at the news that his younger sister was going to be a mother.

“It is. Hell, without it, there wouldn’t be any more humans. But, like I was telling T, it’s not so much the fact that she’s pregnant, but the fact that the father is a very dangerous man.”

“Ah… So, if I had reacted with joy at hearing the status update about your sister, that would have been the incorrect response?”

“I… Well, no, not really.” Humming audibly in thought, Neil leaned forward and began carefully cutting the wires to the old socket sensors. “It still would have been an acceptable response.”

“But you were upset.”

“Yes.”

“So a reaction of joy or a reaction of upset… Both would have been acceptable?”

“Yeah.” Neil glanced up at Rose and smirked. “You starting to understand a little better as to why it’d be so hard to  _ teach _ you emotions?”

“Yes, I am,” Rose murmured. She couldn’t deny that it was a little disheartening, and frustrating, to feel and comprehend emotions, but not be capable of completely expressing them.

Neil must have picked up on her sadness, because he reached up and patted her midsection gently. That seemed to be one of his ways of reassurance.

“Don’t worry. I’m certain it’s not impossible, especially for an Omnic like you. And we have a few things we can try. I just don’t want to make a promise I cannot keep, alright?”

“Understood,” Rose replied, turning her gaze back up to the ceiling.

That was something that Neil had placed significant emphasis on the entire time he had been working on Rose. If he promised to do something, then it was done without fail. It was something that Rose found admirable about the human; they did not break promises.

Rose let Neil work in silence for a short while before speaking up again. He certainly didn’t seem bothered by her talking, and Rose still had many questions. She just hoped that she could get as many answers as she could before it was time for her to leave.

“May I inquire as to why you are helping me so much? Please note I am not ungrateful, but I do not believe you were under any sort of obligation to help me.”

“I wasn’t. And I’m not,” Neil replied, this time not even glancing up from his work. “But…I think it’s the right thing to do. Refusing to help would have been a really jerk thing to do. Besides, at the very least, it’s kind of my responsibility as a human who is capable of competently working on Omnics to help when and where I can. Humans created Omnics, so it’s our responsibility to look after them.”

“Not all humans think like you do.”

“Yeeeah… I’m aware of that,” Neil muttered, glancing away briefly, uncomfortable with the statement. He sighed and then shrugged, smiling down at Rose. “Well, I’m not like those humans. I’d like to think I’m a little better than that.”

“I believe you are better than that,” Rose stated, looking over at Neil.

Though her statement had been simple and sincere, it appeared to catch Neil by surprise. He stopped and blinked at her for almost thirty full seconds. Then he blushed furiously and ducked his head again, mumbling and grinning sheepishly. He quickly rubbed the back of his neck before pushing up his visor and combing back his hair with his fingers.

“Well, uh, well...thank you,” he stammered, still blushing. He coughed and stood up, briefly leaning back to stretch his back while motioning for Rose to stand up. “In any case, pretty sure I’ve finished the necessary work on your shoulder. Mind standing up for me and testing it out?”

Clambering off the operating table without hesitation, Rose stood up straight and tentatively rolled her right shoulder. Everything felt and responded like it was in proper working order. Though she knew that Neil would want to ensure this. Turning to him, Rose tilted her helm.

“It feels correct.”

“Alright, let’s make sure,” Neil stated. He walked over to Rose and guided her to hold her arm out straight. “Still good?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now then… You know what’s coming next. Brace yourself.”

Adjusting her stance, Rose kept her arm extended straight. Neil suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled on her arm with all the strength he could muster up. Given that he was seven inches shorter than her, and of a very lanky build, Rose didn’t budge. Even when he yanked on her arm and tried to forcibly push it in any direction, Rose kept her arm locked still.

“Phweph…! Okay! Good. That’s...that’s good,” Neil panted as he stepped away from Rose. He stopped, squared up his stance, and narrowed his eyes. Then, without warning, he darted towards her. “Catch me!”

Having already half-expected the sudden charge, Rose moved her arm down by a few degrees. As soon as Neil lunged at her, she brought her arm back up. The movement allowed Neil to grab onto her arm as though it were a tree branch. With surprisingly little effort, she hoisted him up into the air as high as she could without him sliding down. Even better, she never felt any strain or any resistance that would be of concern.

Despite how much he grunted and kicked his feet, Rose was able to easily keep Neil hoisted up off the ground. Finally, with a groaned sigh, Neil slid down and let his feet hit the floor. Humorously enough he continued to hold onto Rose’s arm. She watched him, awaiting his feedback.

“Seems stable enough,” Neil breathed, wiping his brow. He looked back over the socket, this time without the visor covering his eyes. “Everything looks okay, too. And you didn’t notice anything adverse?”

“No. Everything seems to be in proper working order.”

“Excellent.” Neil gave an approving nod and stepped back from Rose. “You’re looking and operating better with each passing day. Just keep using that arm throughout the day and let me know if you notice anything wrong.”

“Understood.”

Hands on his hips, Neil gave Rose a once over, seeming quite proud with his work.

“After all the repairs and upgrades, I’ll give you a thorough cleaning and coat of polish. We’ll make you a sleek, powerhouse of an Omnic yet.”

“That would be...most appreciated.”


	3. The Finishing Touches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As her time with Neil nears its end, Rose finds herself fully repaired and upgraded. And with her new body comes a new appreciation and curiosity for the world around her.

As the days ticked away, Neil continued to work tirelessly to ensure that Rose was fully repaired while upgrading her at every opportunity he could. She still found it quite curious that he was so devoted to upgrading her entire frame, but Rose didn’t complain. All of Neil’s actions seemed to be compassionate ones, and not once did she ever feel as though she should be concerned about what he was doing.

At the moment, he was finishing up a repair and subsequent upgrade to her spinal support. The entire process had felt a little odd, as she could occasionally feel the soldering tool heat on other spots of her frame. But she easily remained still, gaze remaining fixated on a small collection of photos on a work desk.

Most were digital copies, with some even cycling through a particular set of photos within the same frame. There were, however, four photos that appeared to have been developed from actual film. Such an antiquated method was rarely seen these days, and Rose couldn’t help but voice her curiosity.

“Neil?”

“Yeah?”

“You have many photos.”

“Eh?” Momentarily stopping his work, Neil sat up straight, peeking over Rose’s shoulder. Seeing the photo collection that Rose was staring at, he chuckled and nodded, returning to work. “Ah, yeah. I, uh, have a lot of them.”

“Most humans do.”

“I...guess so?” Neil frowned briefly, then grinned and shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. Don’t spend too much time around other humans.”

“Do you not get lonely?”

“Not really. T’s pretty good company. Besides, I find it easier to talk to Omnics than most humans.”

There was a small stretch of silence, then Rose spoke up again.

“Why do you have photos that were developed using such an outdated method?”

“A what now?” Neil asked, once again peeking over Rose’s shoulder.

Noting that Neil had paused work for the moment, Rose motioned to one of the film-developed photos. Neil made an ‘ah’ sound and hunched back over. He tapped Rose’s back to let her know he needed her to remain still before returning to work.

“Those were taken at a family reunion hosted by my sister’s-er, stepsister’s side of the family. Couple of them weren’t very fond of digital cameras, so...I went with a more old-fashioned method.” Neil paused, frown returning briefly. “I still don’t think they were pleased with the photos, but at least they let me take them.”

“Hm.”

Though his answer was comprehensible, Rose didn’t understand his relatives’ aversion to digital photos. They were of a higher quality and far more durable. Not to mention much easier to transport and share.

Humans were such curious creatures.

Continuing to look over the photos, Rose couldn’t help but notice the differences between Neil and some of the other humans she could only assume were his relatives. Their skin tones and hair colors were notably different, with Neil being much paler than his step-relatives. There was a young woman and young man who both made repeated appearances in the photos. Both of which had the same differences in appearances.

“Am I to assume that the young man and young woman in the photos are stepsiblings?”

“If you’re talking about Raphael and Cassandra, then you’d be right.”

“May I ask where they currently are?”

“Um, let’s see… Last I knew, Raphael was in Japan celebrating the opening of a new corporate resort. A place for both overpaid executives and us plebeians to briefly coexist. ...if said plebs can even afford a room there.” Neil sighed and rolled his shoulders. “I don’t really recall the details about the place. To be honest, I wasn’t paying that much attention. Raphael’s got his hand in so many different business dealings that it’s kind of hard to keep up with them. He keeps trying to rope me into some sort of ‘tech for Omnics’ scheme, but…”

“You do not wish to participate?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m pretty sure I’d have to sell my soul in order to work with his associates. That and I kind of prefer to do my work on an as-needed, individual basis. Not on some wide-scale, commercialized level.”

“I see. You prefer the altruism, then?”

“If you want to call it that, yeah.”

“Interesting.” Rose paused for a moment, gaze going to a photo of Neil and Cassandra. “And what of Cassandra? She was the one you spoke to recently, correct?”

“Uh, yeah. She’s...still at the main Overwatch base, to the best of my knowledge. One of their top commanders, but works more on the black ops side of things. So you’re not going to see her name in the news very often. Not like one of her coworkers. Think his name was...Patterson. Or that, uh, Morrison guy,” Neil replied. He sighed and combed his hair back with his fingers. “Not sure how long she’s going to be able to stay there now, though. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“You seem to prefer to keep to yourself, then.”

“Yeah, definitely. I’m not much of a people person.” Laughing lightly and sitting up to straighten his back, Neil patted Rose on the shoulder to let her know he was done. “Like I said, I prefer to deal with Omnics than humans.”

Still finding such a trait puzzling, but gratefully so, Rose stood up and flexed both shoulders. Neil had fully upgraded both, and she had been able to exert a considerable amount of force without stress. He had also repaired and upgraded everything that he could from her hip sockets down. Rose’s spinal supports and systems had been the last thing to work on, as Neil had said he wanted to make sure everything was properly connected and functioning.

As of right now, that seemed to be the case.

“Well? What do you think?” Neil asked, perched on his seat and giving Rose a tired grin.

“I am most appreciative of your work, Neil Waters,” Rose replied, shuffling around a few paces while flexing her hands slowly. “It is of an expert level.”

“Ahah… I don’t know if I’d go  _ that _ far, but I appreciate the endorsement.” Sliding off his seat, Neil began walking around the workshop as he put away his tools. “I’d offer to give you a new paint job, but I seem to recall that the monks have their own color scheme going on. Don’t want to give you a new coat of paint only to have to go back and redo it.”

“That makes sense.”

“However…” Neil turned around, holding up a spray can of polish and an obviously well-used rag. “Doesn’t mean we can’t make you shiny.”

Tilting her helm, Rose sat back down obediently on the work table. She watched Neil don a mask meant to protect his ventilation, swinging her feet slowly. Rose had seen other humans do such an action when they were waiting for something. So she thought it only fitting that she attempt to incorporate such traits into her own behavior.

“Alright, here we go,” Neil announced, scooting over.

 

It took Neil about two hours to finish, but once he had, Rose had to admit that she looked much better than she initially had. Her armor gleamed with a practically flawless sheen, and there wasn’t a visible mark on her from Neil’s work. He was just finishing up the last bit of her helm, which meant that Rose had to remain very still.

“Okay. This might feel a bit odd, but it’ll be over soon enough,” Neil cautioned, his voice muffled by the mask.

With that, he looped the rag over the top of Rose’s helm and began vigorously rubbing it along the armor. True to his warning, the quick, repeated action sent off a series of reactions from Rose’s sensors. Her optics fluttered briefly as they worked to focus on the constantly moving object. Though Rose eventually gave up on such an endeavor and instead tried to focus on Neil through the flurry of the rag.

After a few minutes of vigorous rubbing, Neil stopped, but didn’t remove the rag. Instead, he left it looped around Rose’s helm, with a small part of it sticking forward as though it were a hood. He then loosely tied it underneath her chin before sitting back and grinning widely at her.

“You’re a babushka Omnic!” he stated, laughter already creeping into his voice.

“I am?” Rose queried with a tilt of her helm.

“Nah, I’m just playing with you,” Neil chuckled. He reached over and undid the flimsy knot, pulling the rag off Rose’s helm. “But you  _ are _ a very shiny Omnic now. Look like a totally different person than from when you first got here.”

Curiosity getting the better of her, Rose turned to look at the full-length mirror that Neil kept in the workshop. He had mentioned keeping it so that he could occasionally watch himself work. But it also served as a means to better inspect the work he had done, too.

Standing tall in front of it, Rose slowly looked herself over. Neil was correct. She certainly did look much different than she had when she had been first brought to him. Much different and much  _ better _ .

Turning slowly, Rose inspected the places on her frame where there had once been broken armor, torn circuitry, or, at the worst, a gaping hole. Now there was nothing but gleaming armor that moved fluidly at her command. Or tightly woven circuitry that was securely protected under its own, pliable armor. It would have been impossible for one to tell that she had nearly been a pile of scrap metal a mere few weeks ago.

“Well...what do you think?”

Catching Neil’s gaze in the mirror, Rose turned to him. Her cerulean optics flicked over the human quickly, noting that he was exhausted but appeared quite content. With an approving nod of her helm, Rose looked back to her reflection.

“I do look completely different than I initially did. I am...a far better Omnic than I was before.” Rose looked back to Neil. “Thank you, Neil.”

“Ah, no problem. Happy to do so,” Neil replied with a quick, somewhat dismissive wave of his hand. He began putting away the last of his tools, humming quietly to himself. “You’ve got two more days before the monks come to get you. Try to test out that new frame of yours as much as you can. Want to make sure that all possible kinks are worked out before shipping you off.”

Though she doubted that there were any ‘kinks’ to worry about, Rose simply nodded in agreement. She watched Neil until he had finished cleaning up the workshop. She had spent so much time either remaining still for work to be done or following the male human around that now Rose wasn’t sure what to do.

Seeming to notice her hesitation, Neil strode over to her and patted her on the shoulder.

“Come on. It’s dinnertime and I’m starving.”

“Do you require assistance in cooking?” Rose inquired, following Neil up the stairs.

“Uh, maybe. Though I prefer to do the cooking myself. It’s been a useful skill to have every now and then.”

 

Despite Neil’s initial statement, both T and Rose had ended up assisting with the food preparations. He had gotten so caught up in the repairs that it appeared Neil had neglected to eat earlier in the day, and he had complained about feeling light-headed halfway through cooking. T, of course, had been the first to respond, with Rose quickly following suit. And even though Neil did fuss about not needing help, he was, nonetheless, grateful for the assistance.

“When was the last time you slept?” T asked, gaze flicking over to their partner as he easily and rapidly diced a small collection of vegetables.

“Um… This morning. ...I think.”

Seated at the small, round dining table, Neil was slouched over to the side, watching the two Omnics with a tired gaze. He had one leg tucked up against his lean body, chin resting on knee. His hair, now free of the confines of his visor, was only loosely combed back. A few stray locks hung in his vision, but Neil didn’t seem to mind.

“Correction. It was yesterday morning,” T countered. “You have failed to sleep for the past twenty-four hours.”

“Okay. Thank you, mother,” Neil grumbled with a roll of his eyes. He shrugged quickly, remaining slouched over. “What did you expect? I was busy working.”

“I understand that. I also understand that it is important that you get a sufficient amount of rest.”

“Which I can now do...as soon as I have had food.” Neil sat up a little straighter. “Are you almost done?”

“The food should be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Yes, but I’m hungry  _ now _ .”

T only seemed to find Neil’s complaint amusing, and continued to work. Though she didn’t fully understand the dynamic, Rose could only assume that T was accustomed to Neil’s particular humor. It would make sense, of course. Though she wondered if T’s familiarity with Neil’s humor was something that had been programmed...or learned.

The question seemed to personal to ask, so Rose kept it to herself. Though the occasional glance over to Neil still told her plenty. The human was watching T with a quiet, adoring gaze, a small smile pulling at one corner of their mouth. While Rose may have had numerous questions in regards to the relationship between Neil and T, the sincerity of it was not one of them.

“May I ask how long you have had T?”

Appearing to snap out of his daze, Neil looked over at Rose. He pondered her question, silently counting to himself. After a few moments of thinking and studying T, Neil looked back to her.

“About five years, give or take a few months.”

“May I ask how you came to acquire him?”

“Aw, Rose wants to know how we met,” Neil crooned to T.

“Spare her the embellishments, would you?’

“Spoilsport,” Neil huffed, though he was grinning. After a moment, he cleared his throat and looked back to Rose. “Well, I was doing some parts shopping. I’ve been working on Omnics for quite a while now, but had to do part shopping in some rather...unsavory parts of town back then.”

“The crime rates were astounding,” T added.

“Yeeeah, they kind of were. But, in any case, this one junkyard that I went to had this unfortunate Omnic pretty much bolted to the wall. They were obviously a decommissioned military-grade one, and had been relegated to being the yard office’s security system.” Making a disgusted face, Neil shook his head before continuing. “Can’t say why, but I couldn’t get that Omnic off my mind after I’d left the yard. They’d obviously been aware of their settings and surroundings, but their owner had removed their vocal processor. So they couldn’t really talk except for a few beeps and whirrs.”

Though she was fairly certain that the Omnic in question was T, Rose kept quiet. Neil seemed to be enjoying telling her this story, and she didn’t want to interrupt.

“So, after a week of not being able to stop thinking about that Omnic, I went back and tried to buy them. Needless to say, the shop owner wasn’t too keen on giving up their only security system. So I agreed to install a totally new one for them if they’d give me the Omnic. They agreed and…” Neil motioned to T. “That’s how I got T.”

“I was quite happy to get out of that place,” T commented as he continued to cook what was looking to be a mix of vegetables and chicken.

“I was just surprised at how intact his memory chips and processors were,” Neil continued, briefly perking up. “Despite the fact that you were pretty much, uh, in half, you were still amazingly coherent. Not complaining, of course.”

“And then you...repaired him, correct?” Rose ventured.

“Yep. Fixed him up all good and proper,” Neil proclaimed proudly. There was a pause, and then Neil ducked his head sheepishly. “Admittedly, T’s been my guinea pig for a couple of upgrades, but we haven’t had any real catastrophes.”

“So long as we don’t count the attempt to integrate flamethrowers into my arsenal,” T muttered, looking over at his partner.

The idea of an Omnic of T’s stature and build having flamethrowers at their disposal was alarming to say the least, and Rose looked between Neil and T quickly. While T simply kept their gaze fixed on Neil, the human appeared to be trying to shrink down in his seat as much as possible. He quickly combed his hair back, glancing around in what appeared to be an attempt to look innocent.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Neil said quickly, clearing his throat. Noticing that the food was almost finished, Neil began dramatically waving at the food. “Oh, look at that! Dinner’s ready!”


	4. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Repairs and upgrades now finished, Rose finally gets to meet the Omnic monk who she will be learning from.

Despite logic dictating otherwise, Rose found that there did seem to be some truth in the phrase that humans had about time flying. The day that she was to be taken back in by the monks arrived sooner than she had anticipated. Even Neil made a couple of comments about how quickly the date arrived.

Nonetheless, Rose couldn’t deny the sense of excitement she felt at the prospect of moving. While she knew that she would be eternally grateful for the assistance that Neil, and T, provided, Rose also knew that she wasn’t meant to stay with them. She had been given a second chance. A chance to have a life of her very own.

That was something that not every Omnic could say. Even after the Crisis.

The sound of a quick, evenly spaced set of knocks at the door made everyone look up. Even without Neil checking the doorway camera, it was apparent that the monks had arrived. Looking over at Rose, Neil gave her a bittersweet smile and motioned to the door.

“Sounds like they’re here.”

Hopping up from his seat, Neil darted over and opened the door. Sure enough, there were two monks standing there waiting. They nodded politely to Neil in greeting, who quickly stepped aside to let the Omnics in. Following T’s lead, Rose got up from her seat, but stayed put. She recognized one of the monks, but the other was unfamiliar to her. Nonetheless, they appeared happy to see her. Or rather, as happy as an Omnic could appear.

“Glad to see you two made it here safely,” Neil chirped happily. He motioned to some chairs, then paused. “You can sit down. Uh...if you’d like, I mean.”

“Thank you,” the first monk, Ruhatta, the one that Rose recognized, stated as they sat down soundlessly on the chair.

The other monk, however, seemed far more interested in Rose herself. They walked over and looked over her quickly, humming to themselves as they did so. He made a few, quiet comments about the impressive work that Neil had done, or the obvious care that had gone into the repairs. But, for the most part, the monk seemed to be briefly lost in his own world.

Rose took the opportunity to study the monk, now that they were so close. They were of a model similar to her own, but appeared to be far more frail than she. Of course, they were stronger than a human by mere logic that metal was stronger than flesh. That being said, they were not as strong as Rose was now that she had been upgraded. And even she considered herself weaker than T by the fact of the matter that T was of a military model and she was not. And, if Rose was going to be completely honest, the monk appeared to be a little addle-minded, too. They had been far too fixated on looking her over before actually saying anything. Even if it was by human standards, wasn’t it customary to provide some sort of greeting first?

It was only when the monk stepped in front of Rose that she reflexively recoiled, but he didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he seemed a little amused by her reaction. They chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.

“You have nothing to fear from me, I assure you. I am called Zenyatta,” he said, voice tone even and calm. Even for an Omnic. “And I will be your teacher. I have been eager to meet you since I first heard of you.”

“Heard of me?” Rose repeated, glancing between the two Omnics.

“Of course. I told my brother what happened to you and of your plight.” Ruhatta then looked over to Neil, who was sitting cross-legged on a cushioned chair and fiddling with some small, mechanical contraption. “And how mister Neil Waters was so kind as to provide assistance and shelter.”

The mention of his name made Neil look up, blush quickly rising to his face. He glanced between the Omnics, then grinned sheepishly and ducked his head. Waving his hand, he cleared his throat before shaking his head.

“Ah, think nothing of it. Like I said before, it’s not like I could just refuse,” he mumbled, combing his fingers through his hair.

“Yes, you could have,” Ruhatta countered. “Which makes what you did all the more altruistic.”

The blush on Neil’s face intensified and he muttered something unintelligible while still grinning. Though Rose didn’t fully understand why he was reacting the way he was, she didn’t ask about it. Her focus was on Zenyatta, who had returned to looking her over attentively.

“It seems that Mister Waters did an excellent job in repairing you,” Zenyatta commented, slowly circling Rose.

“He did,” Rose replied without hesitation. She looked down over her own frame, remembering the damage that had been inflicted upon it. “He even gave me upgrades. Once they were complete, I felt better than before.”

“How very kind of him,” Zenyatta murmured, tilting his head. He had to admit that it was rather surprising to find a human that was willing to go so far out of their way to assist an Omnic they had never met before. Or just an Omnic in general. “We all speak very highly of him. Though he is very humble and reserved about his skills. Both of which are commendable qualities.”

“We?”

“Yes. My brothers and sisters. Soon you will come to refer to them as your own brothers and sisters, as well.”

“I...will?” Rose asked, sounding a little more nervous than she intended.

“It is nothing to be afraid of,” Zenyatta laughed lightly. “You will have a family. One that you can rely on. And, in turn, one that can come to rely on you.”

Though the concept was foreign to her, Rose nodded slowly in agreement. She had only ever been a servant; had been  _ created _ to serve. The idea of relative independence within a cohesive ‘family’ was something quite new for her. Though she had a feeling that she had already experienced a little of what that independence would be like while living with Neil and T. Neil had been quite lenient in what he allowed Rose to do. In fact, the only thing that he had asked was that she remain inside the house. Even then, the rule had been more for Rose’s benefit and safety than anything else.

“That sounds like...like it would be very nice,” Rose whispered.

“It is. You have much to learn, but that is why you have me as your teacher,” Zenyatta stated, obviously happy with the last statement.

“What will I be learning? I have already been programmed with numerous care and cleaning programs. I-”

“Ah, I think you misunderstand,” Zenyatta gently interrupted. “You are going to be learning about the world around you and how to make it a better place, not just how to serve it. One of the first lessons you must learn is how to be your own being while simultaneously being one with that around you.”

Despite her initial programming and Neil’s extensive work to repair and improve it, Rose still couldn’t comprehend what Zenyatta was saying. She stared at him for a long moment, repeating his words over and over in her mind. They didn’t make any more sense the first time as they did the tenth time. Finally, she made a short, confused beep and cocked her head to the side. Zenyatta just laughed lightly at her reaction.

“As I said, it is something you will learn in time. You are not expected to know everything. Otherwise, you would not need a teacher.”

Though everything Zenyatta logically made sense, it was something in the way that he said it that Rose couldn’t quite understand. Fortunately, the monk seemed to completely understand everything they were saying. Rose could only hope that she eventually got to that point.

“Did he already break your little robot brain?”

Neil’s voice pulled Rose out of her thoughts and she looked over to the human. He was grinning up at her, albeit with a slightly amused look. After a moment, he scoffed and shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

“You’re not the only one. I’ve tried to understand some of their lessons,” Neil continued. “I guess I’m just not smart enough.”

“Our lessons have very little to do with the intelligence of a person and more to do with their awareness,” Ruhatta assured. “And though our lessons are more tailored for our fellow Omnics, there is certainly nothing wrong with a human studying them.”

“Yeah, I listened in on a couple of the speeches-er, lessons that you made public.” Sighing and blowing a lock of stray hair out of his face, Neil made a confused frown. “They were nice enough, and had some good points. It was just one of those situations where you were speaking English, but the words were not making sense. Guess I’m not as aware of the stuff around me as I should be.”

“Perhaps… But you are always welcome to visit and sit in on some of our lessons. You are an exceptional human to Omnics and would be a most valued guest,” Ruhatta replied.

A look of alarm shot across Neil’s face and he briefly stiffened in his seat. The reaction surprised Rose, as she thought that someone like him would  _ want _ to go to a place that had Omnics everywhere. Then the human calmed down quickly and laughed, but it was a quick, nervous bout of laughter that didn’t seem completely sincere.

“Erm, perhaps. I’m just…” Neil trailed off, gaze falling down to the contraption he had been working on. He then sighed and shrugged. “Pretty sure I’m going to be very busy in the near future.” Neil paused, then laughed. “Once it’s all said and done, I’ll probably take you up on that offer. I’ll need to run away to a monastery to keep what little is left of my sanity.”

“Is your sanity in danger, my friend?” Zenyatta inquired.

“Not yet.”

After considering everything she had heard, Rose remembered something and perked up.

“Ah! Are you referring to your sibling, then? Your sister?”

Though he made a face, Neil just nodded. The two monks looked at him, then, when he didn’t answer, to Rose. She wasn’t sure if she should answer, but she didn’t want to leave her new...family members ignorant.

“I believe the sister in question is going to be a mother,” Rose explained. She then remembered Neil’s reaction. “You seemed displeased with this news, however. Is that why your sanity is at risk?”

For a moment, Neil was silent, though he had an odd look of stifled amusement on his face. Finally, he sighed and chuckled. Shaking his head and waving dismissively at Rose, the blond man looked up at her from his seat.

“It...it was a figure of speech, Rose. I was  _ joking _ ,” Neil explained. He then muttered something that sounded like ‘sort of’, but Rose couldn’t quite hear him. “Human children are very energetic and require a  _ lot _ of attention.”

“Oh…” Rose hadn’t considered the possibility that what Neil had told Ruhatta was meant in jest. He certainly hadn’t seemed in a humorous mood when his sister had called. Perhaps his mind had changed now that some time had passed. “I think I understand now.”

“You are a fast learner, I see,” Zenyatta commented. “I will have to be sure to keep your mind busy, then, so that it and the knowledge in it does not stagnate.”

“And our congratulations to your sibling,” Ruhatta commended to Neil. He followed up the statement with a light chuckle. “We will also wish the best for your sanity.”

“Thanks. I’m...going to need it.”

Feeling a little embarrassed that she had not picked up on the joke earlier, Rose looked back to Zenyatta. The monk caught the look and nodded assuringly.

“Do not fret. We Omnics all struggle to completely comprehend human humor. It can be a most confusing thing at times.”

“I find all their emotions to be confusing,” Rose admitted quietly.

The tone of bitterness that managed to creep into her voice surprised even Rose. Though she missed it, Zenyatta gave her a look of concern...and a little alarm. Her attention fell down to her hands, and for a brief moment, all Rose could remember was how easily cruelty and destruction seemed to be for humans. Their penchant for unnecessary violence and pointless conflict.

Then the moment was gone and Rose snapped out of her thoughts. She looked back to Zenyatta, who was now gazing at her curiously. Rose could tell that he was concerned, and she made a soft, apologetic noise.

“I...did not mean that as offensive as it sounded,” she said quickly, trying to recover. “Though my initial experience with humans was not a pleasant one, the ones that rescued me and Neil have proven that there are a few good humans. And while I certainly appreciate the assistance and care that they provided, I must admit it did not do much to assuage the confusion I have in regards to human behavior.”

“Ah, I think I understand,” Zenyatta replied with a nod, appearing  _ somewhat _ satisfied with Rose’s explanation. “If it is any consolation, human behavior is a lesson that I am still learning myself. Personally, I believe that it is a lesson that we, both Omnic and human alike, all are continually learning. Your introduction to aforementioned lesson was simply a tumultuous one. So it is only natural that you would be more confused than most.”

Despite still feeling embarrassed, and frustrated, at being confused, Rose found comfort in Zenyatta’s words. He certainly sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And it didn’t sound like Rose would have to deal with humans for a while, at least. From what she had heard and been told, the monastery was completely populated by Omnics. Sure, there were a few nearby villages where humans lived, but the monastery itself was a safe haven for Omnics.

Looking back to Neil, who was having an animated conversation with a seemingly entertained Ruhatta, Rose tilted her head to the side. It was fascinating to see a human that treated Omnics so... _ humanely _ . Or did she mean humanly? Both were applicable, as far as Rose was concerned.

Nonetheless, Neil had never once given her the cautionary look that so many, many humans had given Rose before. It was a look that she disliked greatly. She wasn’t sure why, but to be looked at and treated as an outsider, something that didn’t quite belong  _ anywhere _ , by the very things that created her, sparked something deep in her core. Something cold and...hateful.

If human humor was confusing, then human logic was downright ridiculous. Why create something if you were just going to treat it like an alien object? Such a reaction would imply that the flaws were with the  _ creators _ , not the creations themselves.

True, there were the rare exceptions, and one of them was sitting a few paces away from Rose. But the majority of humans seemed to be helpless, short-sighted creatures that didn’t seem fully capable of taking care of themselves. They stumbled around, clumsily creating and easily destroying, all the while-

“I know the thoughts going through your mind,” Zenyatta whispered.

His voice was so low that Rose almost missed it, even with him standing right beside her. She started and looked over at him, only then becoming aware that her fists were clenched so tightly the metal felt like it could buckle. Rose stared at him, perplexed and a little in awe that he had managed to discern so much about her with so little reaction from her and in such a short time of knowing her.

“They are deadly and poisonous thoughts,” the monk continued, sounding as though he were almost sighing the words. “I urge you to come to peace with them and let them leave your thoughts as soon as you are able. Such toxicity will only hinder you.”

“I…” For a moment, Rose couldn’t speak. She made sure to keep her voice as quiet as she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself, Zenyatta, or the conversation they were having. “...how?”

“How do you come to peace with such thoughts?” Zenyatta asked. He then leveled a pointed look at Rose. “Or how did I know?”

Though it may have seemed a relatively innocent action, the look itself shot straight through to Rose’s core. It was stunning and unsettling, while at the same time leaving her with a whole host of new questions. And Rose would have been lying to herself if she didn’t feel the smallest twinge of fear. She had greatly underestimated Zenyatta, particularly his perceptiveness.

“...both,” Rose finally answered after struggling to find her voice.

“I could sense your turmoil from the moment I stepped into this room. It is one of your more defining features, it seems,” Zenyatta explained. He shuffled back a pace, motioning for Rose to do the same. He knew that Ruhatta would not eavesdrop, but he did not want to alarm Neil. The human was jittery enough already. “You have been struggling to come to terms with what the humans, even the ones that you first served, did to you. Are you not?”

For a moment, Rose didn’t want to answer. The feeling of unease had only intensified as Zenyatta spoke, but it was an oddly  _ calming _ sense of unease. Like a knot of tension inside her was slowly being uncoiled and straightened out.

“...yes.”

“It is nothing to be ashamed of,” Zenyatta reassured. “As I said, you had a very tumultuous introduction to your new life. Your reaction and current opinions of humans are understandable.” The monk then paused, giving Rose another pointed look. “Though I would daresay your reaction to your treatment is more human than you realize.”

Though her initial reaction was to count such an accusation as absolutely ludicrous, it only took Rose a moment to realize how  _ right _ Zenyatta was in what they were saying. It fed the unease even more, but she didn’t want to stop the conversation. Not now.

“I...do not understand,” she murmured slowly, though she wasn’t sure she believed her response.

“I think that while you  _ do _ understand, you are not  _ ready _ to understand. Does that not seem to be a more appropriate summarization of your thoughts?” Zenyatta offered.

Though the small spark of cold hatred was still writhing around in Rose’s core, something in Zenyatta’s words, his voice, kept it from reigniting. It simply sat there like a barely lit ember. The wisps of dying smoke rising from it leaving trails of confusion in Rose’s mind. Confusion that she was all too ready to get rid of.

“I… Yes. That...that is a far more accurate summarization of my thoughts,” she finally agreed. After a few seconds, Rose looked up at Zenyatta helplessly. “What do I do?”

For a split moment, Rose briefly wished that Zenyatta was human. If there was one thing that she had always greatly appreciated about humans, it was their ability to express their emotions. Whether through a frown or smile or anything in between, Rose found the particular human trait of expressions fascinating. And in that moment, Rose just  _ knew _ that Zenyatta was smiling at her.

It was...comforting. Quite so, in fact. And when he replied, it was with a surprisingly lighthearted and quietly cheerful tone.

“That, my student, is why I am your teacher.”


	5. New Name, New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon arriving at the monastery that is to be her new home, and alongside her new teacher, Zenyatta, Rose is finally given her new name for her new life.

The flight to the monastery was going to be a long one, but the transport ship was fortunately spacious. It gave Rose enough room to wander around and study the various human creations that littered the walls and floor. The pilot, a young man by the name of Harris, seemed to be an amicable enough human. Enough to be polite and at ease around Omnics, at least.

Wandering around the loading bay of the ship, Rose spied a small photo set neatly up on one of the main structure bars. Curious, she shuffled closer and gave it a closer look. It was of the pilot and a young, blonde woman. They both seemed to be quite happy in the photo, and Rose could only surmise that the woman was Harris’s significant other by some degree.

“That is pilot Harris’s wife, Carol.”

Starting slightly at Zenyatta’s voice, Rose turned quickly to the monk. She looked at him for a moment, then back to the photo. It still fascinated her to no end how humans could form such intense bonds of love and loyalty to another human that initially started out as a stranger.

“They seem happy,” Rose stated flatly, gaze still on the picture.

“Yes. And according to Harris, they are expecting their second child soon. He is quite proud.”

Though she wasn’t sure why, Rose’s first reaction was to balk. Though the motion was quick and minute, Zenyatta noticed it, nonetheless. He tilted his helm to the side inquisitively, gaze never leaving Rose.

“You seem upset by this statement. Why?”

“...humans certainly seem to enjoy procreating,” Rose muttered, already feeling sheepish at her reaction.

“It is necessary for the survival of their species,” Zenyatta replied with a chuckle. He then paused and looked back to the photo of Harris and Carol, finding a degree of contentment in how happy the couple appeared to be. Then his gaze slowly went back to Rose, who seemed fixated on the photo. “Do you think that they should not be happy?”

“I…” Rose trailed off, feeling as though she should choose her words carefully. “I do not think my opinion matters.”

“Ah, but that, my dear student, is where you are wrong,” Zenyatta countered. He walked over to Rose’s other side, noting her rigid posture. “Your opinion counts for a considerable amount. Especially to me. So, tell me. Why do you think of the happiness of those two humans?”

“I...ah…”

Now forced to defend her initial reaction, Rose found herself stumbling over her words. Why had she been so disdainful towards an innocent enough photo? Had it been the mention of a new human coming into the world? If so, why? What had the unborn human done? Or was it that the husband in the wife in the photo looked so happy in the mere presence of each other? Had it even been disdain that Rose had reacted with? Or had it been something else? Possibly...envy?

Finally, thoroughly confused, feeling defeated and somewhat upset at herself for her initial reaction, Rose shook her head.

“I...do not know what to think,” she sighed, shoulders slumping. She then remembered that she had forgotten the honorific she was to use for her new teacher from now on and perked up, glancing over at Zenyatta. “Ah, sorry. I do not know what to think, Master.”

“Hm… Are you certain?” Zenyatta queried. “You seemed quite sure in that moment of your initial reaction.”

For a long moment, Rose was silent. She didn’t know if she should admit to her inner conflict or not. It was certainly a weakness that she didn’t want to have held against her. Then again, Zenyatta was proving to be incredibly perceptive. Almost unsettlingly so. There was a good chance that he would figure things out regardless of whether or not Rose spoke up.

So, not wanting to disappoint her new teacher, the female Omnic turned her helm slightly to him, but didn’t lift her gaze. She couldn’t quite bring herself to look him in the optic.

“I...am not certain of my reaction, Master, but…” Still struggling to pick through her muddled emotions, Rose tried to elaborate as best she could. “I think I am still resentful towards humans. As such, I...I do not want them to be happy. Yet, at the same time, I...feel as though I want something akin to what I see in that photograph.”

“Interesting,” Zenyatta mused. He was silent for a moment, then leaned over so that he was in Rose’s field of view. “I believe I understand why you struggled to put into words what you are feeling. That is a considerable amount of confusion and uncertainty you are dealing with.” The monk then looked back to the photograph, straightening his posture. “We shall address each point one at a time, then. It is really the only way to deal with emotional struggles such as these, I have found.”

“Does...such an approach work, Master?” Rose asked tentatively.

“We are about to find out, are we not?” Zenyatta chuckled.

“I...guess so.”

“In that case… Firstly, you mention your resentment towards humans. It is understandable given the abuse you endured.” Zenyatta looked pointedly at Rose. “But would you feel better if another human suffered on your behalf? Neil, perhaps?”

The idea sent a shock of outrage through Rose that was so stark she bristled and pivoted abruptly to face Zenyatta.

“What? No! Never.”

To his credit, the monk didn’t flinch. If anything, he seemed oddly pleased with Rose’s reaction. He nodded and then continued.

“What about Harris? A human you did not know existed until today.”

“I… No,” Rose replied quietly, shaking her helm. “No, I would not.”

“What if it was the humans that had damaged you?”

For a long moment, Rose thought long and hard on the question. She tried to envision herself inflicting the same sort of suffering she had gone through on the humans that had attacked her. Whether or not they would beg or plea or suffer in silence as she had.

Though she wasn’t certain if her new teacher would like the answer that she eventually came to, Rose couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. So, shoulders slouching and hands falling to her sides, Rose gave Zenyatta a borderline helpless look. When she activated her vocalizer, her voice was barely above a whisper.

“...yes.”

For a moment, Zenyatta was quiet, and Rose feared she may have been mistaken in telling him the truth. Then he hummed softly in acknowledgement as he nodded sagely. Beyond that, though, the Omnic monk was unnervingly silent. He seemed to be deep in his own thoughts, but the uneasiness was quickly eating away at what little resolve Rose had left.

So it didn’t take long for her to speak up once again.

“Is that wrong?”

The question seemed to slightly surprise Zenyatta, and his gaze flicked back to Rose. He studied her for a moment, then shook his helm. Despite this, the action did little to calm the unease that had taken hold of Rose. She couldn’t help but shift nervously from one foot to the other, and it took everything she had not to fidget with her hands.

Zenyatta, however, seemed to notice this. He chuckled lightly and tilted his helm.

“No, I do not believe so,” he replied quietly. After giving his fellow monks a quick glance to ensure that they were not hearing the current conversation, Zenyatta turned his attention back to Rose. “In my humble opinion, what I would believe to be wrong is if you were to  _ act _ on that answer. Simply arriving to that conclusion, or even speaking it, has not harmed anyone, has it?”

“I...do not think so.”

“You seem uncertain.”

Again, Rose lapsed into silence. She stared at Zenyatta, struggling to find her voice. It was starting to get a little embarrassing at how easily he rendered her off-guard. Though Rose did recall Neil mentioning something about the monks having a sort of influence on others that nobody could properly explain. Not even the most intelligent of human scientists.

...perhaps Omnics were not exempt from such influence.

“Are you upset with me?”

Again, Zenyatta seemed taken aback by the question, but quickly chuckled and waved a hand dismissively as he shook his helm.

“Not at all.” He paused and then gave Rose a thoughtful look. “Whyever would I be upset with you for telling me the truth? If anything, I am grateful that you already feel comfortable enough to do so.”

While Rose wasn’t sure if ‘comfortable’ was the word she would use to describe how she felt, she didn’t argue it. 

“I thought that you…” Trailing off but feeling her frustration growing, Rose tried to compose herself. This constant faltering of her’s was quickly wearing her patience thin. So, straightening her posture and looking at her teacher, she forced herself to answer without faltering. “I thought that you would be upset to hear that I still harbor ill will towards those humans.”

“Ah, I see.” Zenyatta wagged a digit briefly at Rose. “Be careful with assuming. In my experience it rarely leads to the actual outcome.” The monk then seemed to relax. “In any case, I can assure you that I am not upset to hear you admit to such a thing. While it is something that we shall address during your training, it shall not be a point of contention between us.”

Earlier unease finally beginning to calm, Rose nodded in quiet agreement. She wasn’t sure how her detestment to certain humans could be trained out of her, but it wasn’t called a learning process for nothing. Furthermore, Zenyatta had made a good point about not wishing harm on humans that Rose either knew or barely knew. Two humans at basically opposite ends of the familiarity spectrum, but neither of which she would want to inflict harm upon.

Only specific ones.

 

* * *

 

As the shuttle slowly and carefully touched down onto the snow-covered ground, Harris called out over the back of his pilot seat.

“Alright, here we are! Home sweet home.” Once the shuttle had come to a complete stop and was securely settled, the pilot turned around in his seat so he could grin at the Omnics. “Please remember to take all luggage with you, and tip your waitress on the way out.”

“But...we had no...such things,” Rose replied slowly, obviously confused.

“He was merely saying such things in jest,” Zenyatta whispered to her. “Human humor is an odd thing, but we have found it best to politely laugh and humor him.”

Sure enough, the other monks made a series of soft laughter that Rose immediately recognized as forced. Harris, however, didn’t seem to mind. He just kept grinning before hopping out of his seat and grabbing the one small crate of supplies that the monks had brought with them. Most of the supplies had been for Rose’s benefit, but some had been what she guessed were trappings from the monastery that the monks called home.

To his credit, Harris was respectfully careful with the crate, taking care not to jostle the contents around. He fell in step behind Rose as she followed the monks out of the shuttle. The view that greeted her was breathtaking enough to make her come to a full stop.

Wisps of pristine snow fluttered and coiled off the tops of mountains and carefully constructed, simple buildings. Surrounding them and stretching far into the misty distance was a towering set of mountains, all capped and streaked with glistening snow. Finally, right before her and nested in the center of it all was an impressive, gleaming monastery. A crown of snow lay upon its various rooftops, the crystalline flecks catching the sunlight as it streamed down through the cold wind and occasional cloud.

“Welcome to your new home, my student.”

“...it is amazing,” Rose whispered reverently.

For a short while, Zenyatta simply stood beside Rose, letting her get lost in the moment. Each newcomer to their home had had a reaction similar to Rose’s. Perhaps a different comment, or perhaps they were compelled to wander around the grounds while looking around, but they had all been as awestruck as his new student.

It also gave the monk time to assess his initial opinion of his newest student. He was still thinking over her reply of wishing harm upon those that had hurt her. Most of his students, no matter how troubled or damaged, had still been in the grip of their initial programming to balk at the idea of harming any human. Rose, however, had seemed to hesitate to reply only because she was concerned about Zenyatta’s reaction.

While it was somewhat comforting to know that his newest student already cared that much about his opinion, Zenyatta also knew that he would have to be careful in how he reacted when dealing with Rose. As unsure as she seemed, he didn’t want to inadvertently make her close off from him. Especially if she was still wrestling with some unresolved anger towards humans.

Noticing that Rose was still standing in the same spot, seemingly transfixed, Zenyatta chuckled and stepped over to her.

“Would you like to go inside? Or were you wanting your lessons to be outdoors?”

Snapping out of her daze, Rose looked to Zenyatta before ducking her helm sheepishly. Quickly muttering a ‘yes’, she shuffled in place before falling in step behind the monk as he led her to the monastery. Already a small group of Omnics had gathered at the doorway, eager to see the newcomer. They were all of various make and model lines, most that Rose recognized, but some that she did not. Either they were older than she or they had been built for entirely different purposes.

“These are all your fellow students,” Zenyatta explained as they got closer. The crowd politely parted to let the monk and Rose go through, but she didn’t miss the whisperings between the students. They seemed particularly interested in the upgrading and restructuring she had gone through, but Rose tried to ignore it. “You will begin working with them tomorrow. For today, however, we will simply focus on getting you acquainted and settled.”

The inside of the monastery was as impressive as the outside. The ceiling reached so high that Rose could barely see it, and the candlelight played a myriad of shadows against the stone walls. As Zenyatta guided her down a short ramp and through a series of small, open-ended rooms, Rose couldn’t help but peek over the ledge of the walkway. It was an incredibly long way down.

Making a small noise of discomfort, Rose glanced back to Zenyatta. He seemed completely unperturbed by the sheer drop, but it only made sense. He had probably walked these rooms and halls more times than he could remember. Even so, Rose couldn’t help but think that such a fall posed a rather dangerous hazard to visitors.

...or maybe that was the point.

“Ah, before I forget, we do need to figure out what your new name will be.”

Rose looked up, tilting her helm to the side inquisitively.

“New name?”

“Yes. As you will be getting a new life, it is only fitting that you get a new name to go with it,” Zenyatta explained, glancing over his shoulder to Rose. “Do not worry, however. While it is going to be one of our top priorities for you, I do not want you to feel pressured by the task. It is always better if the name that you choose is something that comes to you as naturally as possible.”

“I…” Rose mulled over what Zenyatta had told her. Again, what he said made sense, and she had always felt a little odd about taking on another human’s name. However, Neil had been quick to reassure her that the name ‘Rose’ was simply temporary and that she could change it whenever she liked. It seemed that now was that time. “...very well. But how will I know if I am suitable for the name?”

“If you are suitable for the name?” Zenyatta asked, a slight hint of laughter in his voice. “I think you have it backwards, my student. The name should suit you, not the other way around.”

“Oh…” Rose was quiet, then decided to try again. “Then...how will I know if the name is suitable for me?”

“Well, think on it for a moment. Do you recall having any preferences towards anything in the world around you? Or perhaps a hobby?”

“A hobby?” Rose repeated. She paused, making a soft hum of thought to let her teacher know that she was trying to come up with an answer. While she certainly couldn’t recall having ever had the freedom to do anything but serve in her first life, Neil had given her the freedom to roam around his home and explore. Even then, though, it had been a fairly small, enclosed area. “No. I do not believe so. I never had the opportunity before meeting Neil, and even then, my time with him was somewhat limited.”

“Understood.” Zenyatta then shrugged dismissively. “As I said, it is nothing to feel pressured by. We will discuss it further at a later time.”

Despite her teacher’s words, Rose couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. Everything seemed to have its place and purpose here. Everything and everyone. ...except for her. Even if she was another Omnic, she still stood out. Awkwardly so, even.

“You seem troubled.”

Gaze snapping back up to her teacher, Rose stopped when she realized Zenyatta had turned to face her. He was giving her a concerned look, helm tilted ever so slightly. For a moment, Rose hesitated to answer, but once again pushed herself to answer. Nothing would be gained from her silence.

“I...suppose I am simply feeling overwhelmed, master,” she murmured. “Everything is new and I know so little about it. I… I just feel very out of place.”

“That is to be expected. Everyone who has come here has,” Zenyatta reassured. He then chuckled and motioned for Rose to continue following him. “And that is why I am your teacher. So that you can learn about what you do not know.”

Though she still felt a little unsure, Rose made a quiet noise of agreement.

“As such, I encourage you to ask any and all questions you may have,” Zenyatta continued. “I will do my best to answer them to the fullest extent of my knowledge. And, in the event that I do not know the answer, I will gladly guide you to seek out someone who does. We have Omnics who have all come from varied backgrounds, thus giving them a wide range of knowledge about the world around us. I am certain that…”

Realizing that Rose had stopped following him, Zenyatta pivoted quickly. For a brief moment, he thought that she might have gotten lost. But then he spied her slowly approaching one of the massive, open-air doorways that led to one of the monastery’s balconies. She seemed transfixed by whatever had caught her attention, and Zenyatta was curious to see what it was.

Walking over and keeping his footfalls quiet so as not to disturb Rose, Zenyatta peeked around the doorway. He didn’t immediately see whatever it was that had Rose so enraptured. The view was beautiful, yes, but it was of the same mountains she had seen when first arriving.

Then the Omnic monk noticed that Rose’s gaze was turned upwards to the darkening night sky. Quietly walking up behind her, Zenyatta looked up to the dusky sky. This far away from human civilization and this high up in the mountains, they were afforded a near crystal clear view of the vast expanse of outer space that surrounded them. The stars glistened brightly and the moon was already gleaming almost as brightly as the sun it was replacing.

Noticing that Rose had been so enraptured by the sky view that she had been completely oblivious to his approach, Zenyatta couldn’t help but smile to himself. Not wanting to break the moment, the monk stood beside his newest student, letting her admire what had grabbed her attention so intensely. It also gave Zenyatta some time to think, and, after a long moment, he looked over to Rose.

“I believe you may have already found your new name...Astrayatta.”

Silent for a few seconds, the newest student to Zenyatta slowly nodded her helm, gaze never leaving the starry skies.

“Astrayatta.”


End file.
